Gentle Melody
by Perfect Image
Summary: In which Subaru is given a birthday present, comes to terms with his feelings, and learns that some people are terrible at naming pets. -S/K;Humor/Fluff-


**A/N:** I needed some fluffy SubXKam badly. Thus, this little one-shot was born. I got the idea from the fact that Subaru loved animals in Tokyo Babylon. And, since I adore cats, I figured he would be good with a kitten. Especially since they're very gentle (actually, most of the ones that I've had or met have been very hyper and feisty) creatures.

Oh, I felt that Kamui needed a break from being tortured so Subaru likes Kamui, but he (and the audience) doesn't know if Kamui feels the same way. You can decide at the end of the story. Well, you'll kind of figure it out before then. xD

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"**Gentle Melody"**

Subaru paced across the room, fingers jerking at his sides with impatience and teeth nibbling his lower lip constantly. Kamui, his beloved younger twin, had left him nearly an hour ago, running out with a short, "Be back," in farewell. The other vampire youth had given no indication of where he was going, and the ideas that kept springing up in the emerald-eyed boy's mind left a nasty taste of bile in the back of his throat.

Over the past few days, all of which had been spent in New York, New York during the summer of 1999, Kamui had been leaving early in the morning and coming back just before midnight struck. Subaru's sparkling green eyes had dulled to the point that they shined about as brightly as swamp gunk, and heavy rings could be found underneath them from lap of sleep. His fingernails had grown ragged from worried nips and his often savvy appearance had become ruffled. In short, Subaru was practically wasting away from the inside as horrible thoughts made themselves known, growing stronger in their conviction as Kamui came back smelling of perfume, lavender, to be exact.

By now, Subaru knew for a fact that he loved his younger twin, deeply. The days of Seishirō had come to an end more than twenty years ago, when Subaru had proclaimed to the man spitefully one day that he cared only for the long life that Subaru could offer, nothing more and certainly nothing less. At the age of 187, Subaru had grown so used to traveling that he had quite forgotten his and Subaru's birthday was today and when the detail presented itself finally, he groaned audibly, back pressing against the northern wall as he slid to the ground with a loud thud.

Subaru hugged his legs to his chest, feeling desperately depressed. At times like now, he had always found comfort in his twin, wrapping his lengthy arms around the other and asking for stories. Then, Kamui would smile and nuzzle his elder twin's neck before settling against the raven-haired youth and weaving tales of myths and legends, throwing in the odd vampire spoof entirely for Subaru's benefit. And in return, what would Subaru do? When Kamui whimpered in his sleep, hands clutching at the sheets, knuckles fading to a deathly pale shade, Subaru would arise from his own resting place and press against Kamui, cheek resting against feathered black-brown locks as he cuddled the younger to his chest, as protective as a mother with her newborn babe.

Now Subaru was awakened from his bittersweet memories of days that had occurred mere weeks ago, revived by the sound of the wooden door being opened, the visitor grunting with effort as he slid inside then quickly closed the door, pausing only to adjust his grip on a substantial box before heading in Subaru's direction. "Onii-chan, happy birthday." Kamui's voice was warm and Subaru felt himself liven instantly as those honey-slicked words trailed out the other boy's mouth. Talk about head-over-heels in love. Kamui's heart-shaped face appeared on the left side of the giant box, neck obviously straining as he gestured wildly at the twin beds before heading for the nearer one and setting down the cardboard box with another grunt of effort.

Leaning back on the balls of his feet, he once more gestured for Subaru to come closer, one hand skimming gently over the top of the box. Inside, a sudden sound emitted, Kamui frowning and making "shh" sounds at the box. Subaru giggled gently and received a reprimanding shove from Kamui before sitting down beside the box. Kamui perched on the other side, kneeling and watching with a worried look on his face. "I hope you like it. It took me a few days to find the right one, and now I stink of perfume thanks to that crazy saleslady and—" A high-pitched meow sounded from inside. Kamui grinned sheepishly, looking similar to a little boy as he directed his gaze downward, a light blush covering his face.

"She already came with a name…" Subaru was staring at Kamui in open wonderment, surprise slowly being replaced by joy and gratitude. He had always loved animals, ever since he was a little boy. Sadly, Kamui had been allergic to most types of animals and was deathly afraid of the one species that didn't send him toward the hospital with a closed throat. Cats had always been feared by Kamui, he having watched an escaped zoo tiger escape its cage and kill about seven innocent bystanders before the zoo staff was able to tranquilize it and put it down. Their parents had forbid any kind of pets anyways, and Subaru had often cried after another futile plan to try and change their minds.

Now he opened the box carefully, reaching inside and pulling out a tiger-striped gray tabby, golden bell hanging from a black collar. Two domineering black lines dove downward from its eyes all the way to its jaw line, like tears that had dried and not quite faded from view. Its soft pink nose wrinkled as it brushed hesitant whiskers across Subaru's outstretched hand, the other pinning the tiny creature to his chest. It was a tiny female, just ready to leave her mother and obviously weaned. She batted at his hand gently, deciding him not a threat before a small purr grew to a symphony of motor boats as she expressed her approval of this new owner. Slowly, Subaru raised the kitten up to his face and rubbed noises with it, making his own mewing sounds.

Still, a flash of violet suddenly caught his eyes and he redirected his gazed onto Kamui who was watching, a dash of fear buried in those amethyst orbs. And Subaru found his courage at last. Setting the tiny kitten back in its box, Subaru lunged across the bed, forehead smacking into Kamui's chest and sending them both toppling off the edge and onto the carpeted floor below. Feeling slightly dizzy, Subaru giggled once more, beaming down at the moaning boy beneath him, slender fingers buried in dark curls as he massaged his jostled skull.

"Kamui," Subaru chirped, green eyes suddenly alight with a fire of mischief "I need to give you your birthday present now." Kamui blinked up at him then shook his head hurriedly. "No, Onii-chan, that's all right. I don't need any—" His voice was cut off and his mauve eyes widened considerably as Subaru closed his eyes and slanted soft pink lips across Kamui's own puckered ones. For a few milliseconds, Kamui didn't react. Then he did, with dream-like slowness, both arms rising up to encircle Subaru's neck, urging the elder twin to ask for more, suddenly too shy to ask himself. And Subaru smiled into the kiss before letting his mouth edge open, a probing tongue timidly begging for entrance as it ran carefully over Kamui's lips. Kamui granted it, moaning slightly as Subaru's tongue swept inside his mouth to prod at every crevice before returning to tease Kamui's own tongue playfully. An impulsive action gripped Subaru, causing him to break the kiss to let his teeth score Kamui's cheek, sweeping along the angled jaw before trailing down the curve of his sensitive neck, the younger boy erupting with trembles and shivers, pleasured considerably. Then, with one final lick at Kamui's beating pulse, Subaru raised his lips to land just above Kamui's. A question reflected in the two sets of eyes, asking if the other wanted to go farther, if they felt ready to go further. Before either could decide, however, a loud caterwaul reduced both to flinching, so loud and ear-splitting was the cry. And, it didn't stop there. Now a thin wailing was produced. Kamui stared at Subaru with wide eyes, both having sprung apart when the harsh calls began and were now resting three feet apart on their hands and knees. "My god," Subaru whispered as he slowly rose to acknowledge the abandoned feline, "what did you say her name was?" At this, Kamui ducked his head, embarrassment shining in his eyes. "Her name is Melody." Subaru cringed as she let loose another howl. "Oh, yes, she is very melodious."

And, as the two figured out later on, she was an extremely jealous cat with a bad habit of jumping Kamui whenever the twins snuggled together. She also developed an unnerving tendency to simply stare at Subaru and loved playing near Sakura blossoms so much that soon Kamui was calling the cat "Seishirō". Of course, Subaru protested against the name and she was soon back to being simple Melody. But that didn't stop Kamui from trying to kick the cat in later years when she began to attack him on a daily basis.

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**Notes: **Etto…I love that cat. XD I'm sorry, but I couldn't see Kamui taking kindly to a cat. Maybe a gentle kitten, yes, but most certainly not that…thing.

In terms of age, it was mentioned by Yuuko that vampires aged much slower than humans, even if they weren't immortal. Relatively, they would be around the age of eighteen in this fiction since around twenty years had passed and before I considered them to be either fifteen or sixteen, keeping in mind the fact that vampires age slower as they grow older.

I got the age idea from the _House of Night_ series, an enchanting read for those of you that want something dark and sexy rather than simply…romantic, as I suppose _Twilight_ is. I despise that book simply because of all the credit it's given. And besides, in _House of Night_ they have gay guys! When I learned that I promptly "lost" the book since my aunt (very Christian) wanted to read it too. She probably would have dunked my head in holy water 'till I drowned. I mean, I'm Christian as well, but my god. You don't seem condemning the rest of the human race to hell simply because they don't believe in Christianity. Other than that, my aunt is real cool. Just don't get her started on that topic.

_Etto - 'Umm', 'well', or some sound/word/phrase signifying indecision. _

_Onii-chan - 'Older Brother' (Affectionate) _


End file.
